India-born Nikhil Chaudhary called into Aus. T20 squad

Head out rested , Nikhil Chaudhrey in

India-born Nikhil Chaudhary called into Australia T20 squad

NewsIndia-born Nikhil Chaudhary called into Australia T20 squad

Former Punjab allrounder Chaudhary replaces Travis Head for Bangladesh T20Is after three excellent seasons with Hurricanes in the BBL

Nikhil Chaudhary led the chase with 79 off 38 balls •

Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes legspinning allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary, who was born in India, has been called into his maiden Australia T20I squad as a replacement for the rested Travis Head.

Chaudhary, 30, played 14 matches for Punjab between 2017-19, including 12 T20s across the Inter State Twenty-20 tournament and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well as two List A games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He travelled to Australia to visit his uncle in Queensland in 2020 when Australia shut its international borders due to the Covid pandemic. Chaudhary remained in the country and has since secured permanent residency which allows him to qualify to play for the national side despite not yet being a citizen. He has had three excellent seasons in the BBL for Hurricanes after being spotted by then Hurricanes bowling coach, now Sydney Sixers coach, James Hopes while playing grade cricket in Brisbane.

Chaudhary played a key role in Hurricanes' BBL title in 2024-25 and has since made his List A and first-class debuts for Tasmania, including making a maiden Sheffield Shield century and taking a maiden five-wicket haul.

Chaudhary trained with Australia's squad in Brisbane before they departed for Pakistan but was not initially in the squad with Joel Davies called in as a spinning allrounder. But the absence of Head has opened the door for Chaudhary to be called in.

"Nikhil has been a player of national interest for some time," Australia selector Tony Dodemaide said. "He was a standby player for this tour, joining the squad at pre-season camps in Brisbane and comes in as a replacement for Travis Head.

"The panel has been impressed by his BBL form, particularly last season, leading to his addition to the squad. He has also been part of the Delhi Capitals setup in this year's IPL.

"Nikhil will gain invaluable experience in Bangladesh and will be in contention to play his first game for Australia when we sit down to pick a team for the opening T20 fixture here next week."

The last India-born male to represent Australia was legspinner Rex Sellers who played his sole Test in Kolkata in 1964. Former Australia women's captain Lisa Sthalekar represented Australia 187 times across all forms after being born in Pune.

Australia are still hopeful T20I captain Mitchell Marsh will be fit for the series after being ruled out of the two preceding ODI series against Pakistan and Bangladesh due to an ankle injury. Marsh was seen having a net session in Dhaka during the second ODI.

Australia also welcome in fresh faces for the T20I series with Davies, Tim David, Spencer Johnson, Josh Philippe and Aaron Hardie joining the squad having not been part of the